There are plenty of triathletes in the UK, and our numbers are growing. There are over 200 official triathlon clubs UK-wide. Triathlon220, the popular UK magazine, now has a circulation of 23500; and the majority of triathletes don’t buy it, preferring to use websites and triathlon forums as their information source. It’s a popular sport, and its growing fast.

The demographics of this group tend to be middle class, white, often with a family, and usually with a steady and decent household income. We typify the Pro-Am revolution: we have superior knowledge about a particular section of consumption – we make informed choices about our often large spending patterns on bikes, trainers, wetsuits, and all means of tri kit and gear. We plan holidays around foreign races, often taking family and friends with us, we have triathlon clubs, running clubs and gym memberships, all at some cost. We (try to) eat healthily and spend a considerable amount of time (typically between 5-20 hours a week) training to achieve our triathlon goals.

Let’s face it, its not a cheap sport.

With these considerably sport-specific, well-thought-out consumption patterns, there’s big potential for us to also make a positive impact on the environment, society as well as the economy. Being eco-friendly isn’t all about growing veggies and wearing vintage clothing: its about tailoring your consumption patterns so that we minimise your impact on the environment and maximise benefits to our communities.

As triathletes, we have already shown we’re capable of wielding large consumer power, by our annual spend on sports-related consumption, in a very informed manner. Why not also use this to reduce your impact on the planet, so that your kids can enjoy triathlon in some of the beautiful places we do, knowing that you did your bit to limit climate change, reduce pollution and preserve places of natural beauty? We enjoy the environment every time we get on our bikes, lace up our trainers, or struggle with the wetsuit (and potentially the neoprene cap if you’re in the UK). Even more so when we race in some of the fantastic locations available to us: Port Macquarie, Florianopolis, Weymouth, the Victoria Docks ;) Why not make sure that your kids get to enjoy it too?

There’s a lot to take in when buying a bike, shopping at the supermarket, organising that trip to the Ironman you’ve trained for all year. But we love organising stuff, right?? Every triathlete suffers from OCD to some extent the night before a major race. I’ve seen you line up and double count those race-gels… So I’m figuring that a little extra work to make sure you’ve done the right thing not only by you, but also by the environment will not be too big a hurdle. And I’m going to help you… here’s how I’m tackling some of the problems we face in being responsible athletes, one step at a time.

Saturday, 5 July 2008

New environmentally friendly training gear

Looks like technical training clothing is changing for the better. A company in the US - Green-Layer clothing - is designing and selling performance and technical gear - so far mainly for running (but watch this space, there may be some cycling and tri kit at some point...) made from renewable sources. All clothing contains at least 50% renewable fabric content, whether recycled polyester, soy-based, organic cotton or bamboo. And it looks good! Check them out! Start replacing your lycra/polyester running kit today...

www.green-layer.com

"There are 5 layers of skin and our apparel acts as the natural 6th layer. It blocks us from rain, wind, sun, cold, and abrasions. This final layer must act naturally like your skin, like your own body. It must be functional, comfortable, flexible, and allow the athlete to focus on their sport, not what they are wearing. The added benefit to our apparel is that it feels technical enough to train for a marathon, yet comfortable enough to wear around town on the weekends. Peak performance fabric and inspiring designs, all with at least 50% renewable fabric content.

Greenlayer delivers a unique blend of athletic apparel and lifestyle product. What makes our apparel unique is the content of the apparel that is made of organic and environmentally friendly fabrics. Any amount of non-eco friendly fabric removed from a garment helps save the environment and our planet's natural resources. We strive to maximize eco-friendly material usage in all of our apparel and donate a percentage of our gross margin sales to environmental causes.

We have a full product range of base layers, outerwear, and accessories that race directors, screen printers, corporate clients, and retail accounts can purchase. Already have a merchandising team? We can help you source. Please contact us for more details. Our products are made from a variety of standard performance fabrics to eco-friendly fabrics, such as Bamboo, Bamboo Carbon, CoCoNa, Polyester Repreve, and Organic Cotton.

1 comment:

Another great sustainable fiber for triathletes is merino. Icebreaker, a company from New Zealand makes technical outdoor apparel from sustainable merino fiber, including t-shirts and tops for running and cycling. It's also just starting a new traceability program called Baacode. More info at http://media.icebreaker.com/Garment_Traceability.press. You can bury your worn out merino apparel in the garden with no adverse impact on the planet!

About Me

About Me

Just in case you're wondering if I have any qualifications in this stuff!... MA (hons Cantab) Natural Sciences (Ecology, 1999), MProf Leadership for Sustainable Development (Forum for the Future, 2000), Diploma in Sustainable Development (2000), and MSc in Economics (CeFiMS, 2007, distinction). A year working for a sustainable development charity, and 5 years at an international trade house. I now freelance as a sustainble development and business consultant. On the sports side... highlights include 5 ironman finishes, all under 10 hours, a handful of marathons and lots of other triathlon distances; I turned pro ironman this year and qualified for the World Champs.